y anchored at the
former in twenty-five fathoms on a sandy bottom, a cannon-shot from
shore.

This island, in lat. 16 deg. 10' S. is one entire mountain, looking like one
of the Molucca islands, and all covered with cocoa-nut trees, for which
reason they named it Cocoa island.[116] The other island is much lower
than this, but longer, and stretches east and west. While at anchor off
Cocoa island there came three _ships_,[117] and nine or ten canoes about
them, having three or four men in each. Some of these holding out white
flags in token of peace, the Dutch did so likewise. The canoes were flat
before and sharp behind, hewed each out of one piece of a red kind of
wood, and sailed very swiftly. On coming near the Unity, some of the
savages leapt into the sea and swam to the ship, having their hands full
of cocoa-nuts and _ubes-roots,_[118] which they bartered for nails and
beads, giving four or five cocoa-nuts for a nail or a small string of
beads, so that the Dutch that day procured 180 cocoa-nuts. This traffic
brought so many of the natives on board, that the Dutch could hardly
stir about the ship.

[Footnote 116: Cocas, or Boscawen island, is in 16 deg. 32' S. and long.
169 deg. 35' W. The other island mentioned in the text, Traitors, or Keppel
island, is a few leagues S.S.W. from Cocos.--E.]

[Footnote 117: These ships must have been large double canoes.--E.]

[Footnote 118: These _ubes_-roots were perhaps the same that are called
_eddoes_ by modern navigators among the South Sea islands.--E.]

The boat was now sent to the other island to see for a more convenient
place in which to anchor; but she was presently beset by a vast number
of canoes filled with a mad sort of people, armed with clubs, who
boarded the boat and attacked the Dutchmen. On firing their muskets, the
savages laughed at them for making so much noise and doing so little
hurt; but, on the next discharge, one of them being shot through the
breast, they learnt to pay more respect to the muskets, and to keep
their due distance for the future. The savages were lusty,
well-proportioned men, and most expert swimmers, but naked and thievish,
and very fantastical in the fashion of their hair, some having it
short, others long, some curled, and others plaited or folded up in
various forms.

On the 12th the savages came again in their canoes, laden with cocoas,
bananas, _ubes-roots_, hogs, and fresh water, contending violently who
should get first on